Ordinal Numerals in English
The Ordinal Numerals in the English language could be divided into three groups according to the word formation.
1. There are two types of numerals in English: Cardinal and Ordinal.
The Ordinal Numerals in the English language could be divided into three groups according to the word formation.
I. The first group
The first
The second
The third
The fourth
The fifth
The sixth
The seventh
The eighth
The ninth
The tenth
II. The second group
The eleventh
The twelfth
The thirteenth
The fourteenth
The fifteenth
The sixteenth
The seventeenth
The eighteenth
The nineteenth
III. The third group
The twentieth
The twenty first
The twenty second
The thirtieth
The fortieth
The fiftieth
The sixtieth
The seventieth
The eightieth
The ninetieth
The hundredth
2. For the numerals ending with “-y” (for example: sixty, ninety) “y” is changed to “i”.
There is the definite article put before ordinal numerals as seen from these examples. The definite article is not used if there is a possessive case before the numeral.
We are the first to answer.
This is the second book.
This is my twenty first son.
3. When the numerals are used with houses and apartments, vehicles, book pages, exercises and chapters, then the ordinal numbers are used without the definite article and start with a capital letter.
- Room Twenty.
- Page Seven.
- Chapter eight.
- Open your books at page Twenty one.
- Go into Room Nine.